Japanese electronics-media giant Sony pledged a strong comeback as a global high-tech leader after it suffered its worst ever annual operating loss.

"We're making good progress in our restructuring efforts and expect to save over 300 billion yen (€22 million) in cost reductions in fiscal 2009 through March 2010," president Howard Stringer told an annual shareholders' meeting.

Mr Stringer declined to speculate on the company's stocks when a shareholder asked for his views, saying: "I can tell you we believe business is improving, and we hope to improve shareholder value in the months ahead."

"We're working on profit recovery and growth strategy. That's what we're committed to," he said.

Mr Stringer, who became Sony's first foreign chief in 2005, is under pressure to turn around the company from its first back-to-back annual losses since it was listed on the stock market in 1958.

Sony logged a net loss of 98.9 billion yen (€717 million) in the fiscal year to March and expects to end this year 120 billion yen in the red.

As part of broad efforts to reduce costs, the company is cutting 16,000 jobs, axing about 10 per cent of its manufacturing plants and halving the number of suppliers.

Sony has had a difficult few years in the face of tough competition from rival products such as Apple's iPod and Nintendo's Wii game console.